1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of pets. More particularly, the present invention relates to the care of pets out of doors. Most particularly, the present invention relates to an outdoor recreation containment cage for pets.
2. Description of Prior Art
Housepets, for safety reasons, are often not allowed to be outside without human supervision and control. It is difficult to train some pets, particularly cats, to stay within the bounds of a yard and owners of such pets are particularly fearful of a pet roaming into a roadway and being run over by a motor vehicle. Thus, cats are often simply not allowed to go outside at all. Many owners of cats that are kept strictly indoors would like to have some means of allowing the cats to enjoy the outdoors, yet still keep them safe. Such a means should allow the cat owner to easily transport the cat in a secured device to an outdoors location and provide a comfortable yet secure space within which the cat can play and lounge. This means should also provide a separate space for a litter box. Prior art discloses very few containment devices that are suitable for transporting one or more pets to an outdoor location and keeping them in secured surroundings that are at the same time pleasant and appealing to the pet or pets.
Marquette (U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,181; issued 1963) discloses a portable rabbit hutch. The hutch is a cage supported on four legs with two small wheels swingably attached to the two legs at one end. These small wheels can be swung down into an operable position and the cage lifted at the other end and rolled to another spot on the grass to allow the rabbit to graze on fresh grass and to avoid an accumulation of droppings in one spot. The four legs are releasably attached to the hutch and can be slid up along the side of the hutch or released and used to support the hutch at a level above the ground. For general use, the hutch is placed directly on a grassy surface, so as to allow the rabbit to graze on the grass that juts up through the cage-bottom and to deposit its droppings through the cage-bottom onto the grass. Leader et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,793; issued 1992) discloses a mobile pet carrier for transporting pets, particularly dogs, through shopping malls and tourist attractions. The mobile carrier is similar to a baby stroller with a box-shaped cage set within the frame of the stroller to contain the pet. The cage is covered with material that can be folded back to allow sunlight into the cage. The purpose of the device disclosed by Leader et al. is to allow a person to take his or her pet almost anywhere. Neither of the devices disclosed provides the space, particularly the vertical space, needed to fit the cage with climbing devices such as poles and platforms and other playthings that some animals, particularly cats, typically enjoy for climbing and lounging. Furthermore, neither of the devices provides for a space separate from the playing/lounging space to contain a litter box that is readily accessible by the cats from within the cage and by the pet owner from outside the cage for cleaning and replacement.
Therefore, what is needed is an outdoor recreation containment device for cats that is easily transportable. What is yet further needed is such a device that is spacious enough to allow climbing poles and platforms to be installed. What is still yet further needed is such a device that has a separate space for a litter box that is readily accessible from within the cage by the cat and from outside by the pet owner.